Beast
by Velvet'smusicbox
Summary: Chitanda is acting strange...she's being stalked? Now Houtarou must be her pretend boyfriend whilst finding out who the stalker is.
1. Chapter 1

The text message was something Chitanda Eru had never encountered before, and she wondered what it meant. Was it a compliment or a sarcastic remark? She had no way of telling. It would really depend on who the recipient was, but it was an unknown number. At first, she had asked herself whether it was wrongly sent, however she quickly realised it was not the case. At the end of the message, it was clearly typed "to Eru-chan."

Eru re-read the message several times in her bedroom, half-awake.

She never recalled anyone calling her "Eru-chan." It could be her dear friend Kaho, but the message definitely doesn't sound like her.

Buttons gleaming and then suddenly the device vibrated, indicating another text message was sent. The phone nearly fell from Eru's small hands, but she managed to catch it, and saw the notification that shone on the screen.

An unknown number.

Click.

..

Eru quickly ran to shut the fluttering curtains.

Uneasily and breathing heavily, she struggled to fall asleep.

The paperback novel I just bought yesterday was boring. It didn't interest me as much as I thought it would, so I decided to abandon it altogether.

It was then that I realised, after throwing my focus away from the book, that Chitanda was acting .. strange. Stranger than usual, I mean.

Her chest was rising and falling at a rapid speed, and clutched tightly in her hands was her cell phone, which she kept hidden on her lap.

... It wasn't like I was curious or anything.

It just got me thinking.

"Chitanda," I said without much thought, still keeping my eyes on her phone, "Are you waiting for someone to call?"

Naturally, she jumped, and probably yelped a little, when she heard me speak.

If Satoshi and Ibara were here now, they'd definitely over-react and stick their nosy noses in between us.

Luckily, they weren't here today, so I didn't really hesitate talking.

"I... yes, I think," she said quietly.

.. It probably didn't matter, I dismissed, but she continued speaking.

"Last night, I got a few weird messages," she murmured. This was.. weird. It was never good when Chitanda was troubled.

"Lemme see."

She was aghast, but complied to my order.

Receiving her cell phone, our hands touched.

"They're cold," I thought as her fingers touched the side of my palm. And .. are her palms always this sweaty?

Now then.

I flipped it open.

After scrolling through her messages, my jaw mentally dropped.

I saw through her lie.

What the hell does she mean by "a few" messages?!

There's about a dozen or so- no, wait- probably thirty text messages from the same person.

And they're all weird. Very weird. I had to hold my urge to puke.

The first few messages were okay, to say the least. More like moderately disturbing.

"Hello, babe ;)" and "You look hot tonight"

And then it gradually became unsettling.

"Why aren't you wearing that dress you wore the other night?" and "You adore me, you cutie"

At that point, I felt pity for Chitanda. I glanced at her, and she was looking at me.

Those usually mesmerising, curious eyes were.. different that day.

She was asking for help. I knew it.

I continued to scroll down, until it could be scrolled no longer.

The last message sent was last night, at 3:04 a.m.

"Sweetheart, why aren't you at bed yet?"

And next thing I knew, Chitanda burst into tears.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oy, Chitanda..", I said, in a bid to make her stop crying.

Well, of course she'd feel vulnerable. I mean, being stalked?

Now that I think of it, I remembered aneki was a victim of it a few years ago. I remembered her finding out who it was in a matter of seconds and she beat the daylights out of him. She never heard from the guy again.

But, this is Chitanda we're talking about here. And though I was thankful she didn't have the physical build to torture me like Aneki does, it's still undeniably hard for Chitanda to run away from situations like these.

"Chitanda...", I said again, trying to get my point across.

She must have sensed the urgency in my voice, for she stopped making any sounds.

And she looked at me.

I didn't know why I would go through with this mess. It's not like it's something I have to do. So I won't do it.

But.. if I have to do it, then I'll make it quick.

So why do I not stick by my motto?

..Maybe I was. Maybe I was staying true to it this whole time without realising it.

Chitanda was someone I had to protect.  
And so, I'll make it quick.

So I said, "I'll help,"

She presented a weak smile.

"..What do you mean?"

Taking a deep breath, I decided to sit upright, and said, "I'll catch that guy,"

And beat the crap out of him if it's the last thing I'll do.

Then, Chitanda stood from her seat, and ran towards me.

Huh?

She's hugging me. Oh.

We nearly fell backwards from the chair I sat on, but thankfully the wall was behind us. It caught our fall.

Well now, how'd we get ourselves here?

"It- It's going to be alright."

Chitanda, who was on top of me, nodded into my shirt.

The fabric is stained with her tears now.

But I didn't really mind.

My hand hovered over her back. I had no idea if it was appropriate to pat her reassuringly, and murmur calm words to her ear..

I retreated. I let her rest.

After a few moments in complete silence, I realised something.

"Chitanda, get down,"

"Hmm?"

I didn't mean to sound rude..sorry.

"Can I see your text messages again?"

A pause, and then she nodded, pulled herself off my chest, and nodded once more.

Her eyes were red and watery.

I.. I shouldn't look too much.

Searching through my pocket, I took out my handkerchief.

I handed it to her, and she wiped her face with it while laughing hollowly, "I'm sorry, it's stupid isn't it?"

She continued to laugh. Her voice shook terribly.

"It's not funny."

I was surprised at what I had just said. But.. no. This was what I really wanted to say. I won't lie, I won't fake my feelings. I won't.

"It's not stupid either." I found myself say.

"It's not."

Once again, I began reading the messages, searching for anything that could serve as clues. I was still at a loss.

"Chitanda, did you lose your phone recently?"

Hopefully her answer would lead us somewhere.

"Oh, yes, just last week."

"Where?"

She suppressed a laugh behind her hand.

Even through dry tears she's laughing.

Amazing.

"At the cafe in town."

And amazingly enough, we had our first lead. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Well then, goodbye, Oreki-san."

We were at the crossroad, where we would usually part ways.

Just as I turned to walk to the other side, she caught my arm lightly, and I stopped to face her.

"Oreki-san.. thank you. You've always been there to help me.."

Her voice was genuine and sweet, and although her face was shadowed by the lack of light in the afternoon sky, she gave me a smile that made me feel awfully warm inside.

"N-no problem. I.. just want you to be safe. I don't want you getting hurt."

She smiled again, and said, "Ah, that's very kind of you, Oreki-san."

But somehow, beneath the bright exterior, I could sense her voice shaking and trembling.

Gripping the handles of her bicycle, her mouth opened as if to say something, but she hesitated, and left the air lingering, hanging onto something that was barely there.

Maybe I had imagined it, but ..

"Ah, well, I guess I should go now."

She waved me goodbye, mounted on her bike, and rode on to the opposite side of my destination.

Perhaps I was still unable to read her mind.

I walked quickly across the road.

The traffic light was about to turn red.

_Beep, beep._

Hurry, before it turns red.

Hurry.

_Beep, beep._

_Beep, beep._

It's.. two in the morning.

What's my phone doing ringing at two in the morning?

Grabbing my phone from the table just an arm-length away, I grumbled.

Grumbled about who could be calling at this hour ..

Ruining my precious sleep..

But then I saw the name flashing on the screen.

_Chitanda Eru_

Immediately I answered.

"Chitanda? Are you okay?"

Suddenly I didn't feel sleepy or whiny anymore.

I was anxious, scared.

"Chitanda?"

There was a certain muffling from the speaker, and I held the phone closer to my ear, hoping to hear something, anything, to know that she was alrig-

"Oreki-san?"

She answered calmly.

I let out a sigh.

Turns out there was nothing to be worried about.

"Oy, don't scare me like that."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"..Nevermind."

I sat up on the bed, the blanket slithering down my ankles.

Waiting for a response.

"..."

That silence.. it was familiar.

Was she doubting herself again?

Was she thinking deeply about what words were to stumble from her mouth?

I heard her take a deep breath.

"Ah, I .. I was just scared.. that's all."

"Oh."

I looked up at the ceiling.

"Is it alright if.. if you accompany me, Oreki-san?"

"..Yeah. It's fine."

..

"Oreki-san?"

"Mm?"

"Sorry for taking your weekend."

Oh yeah, we made plans to head to the park tomorrow to recreate the scene when Chitanda lost her phone.

Hopefully we would be able to find clues.

"Oh, it's alright. I won't be doing anything if I stay at home anyway."

She laughed quietly, and whispered softly, "That sounds very much like Oreki-san."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She laughed again.

It was nice, talking to her like this.

But..

"Chitanda. Did you receive any more messages?"

A small pause, then she answered.

"Y-yes.. it's not as bad as the one last night, but it's still.."

I pitied her.

"Chitanda.. are you going to sleep?"

"Oh, I don't think I'll be able to. Oh, but if you are, th-then I-"

"N-no! It's okay. I'll.. I'll stay on the phone with you."

I knew that somehow I would get back at myself for this.

I wasn't being me at all.

But then why... did this feel so natural?

"Thank you, Oreki-san."

I smiled.

She was always honest, I guess I found it a charm of hers.

"No worries, Chitanda."

I'll keep you safe.


End file.
